Valve seat



E. F. LQWEKE VALVE SEAT July 18, 1950 Filed Dec. 22, 1945 gwmm ERW/N ELEM/EH5 55 flan 21m v Oman/1 A Patented July 18, 1950 mesne assignments, to 'The B. "F. Goodrich Company, Akron, Qhio -a corporation of New oApplicatihniDeuelnber 22. 15345, SerietlNo. 636L690 roman. '(Cl. 251-47) i he-present inventiorr relates to refinements in high pressure fluid -valve structure 'givirig improve'd performance wh ere valve travel, valve opening, pressure lag and other kindred matters are important to performance. Without limitation as to its field of adaptation, the principles of the present invention have been employed to great advantage in connection with the valve structure for hydraulic brake systems of the type disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 545,638, filed July 19, 1944, since abandoned.

In hydraulic pressure systems used in aircraft and other fields, accumulator pressures in the order of LOGO-1,500 p. s. i., tremendously high velocities are attained through the valve seat of the control and regulating valve structures. Fluid velocities to the extent of 300 feet per second are not unusual. The wire drawing effects of the fluid under such conditions generates high local temperatures in the adjacent parts of the valve structure. According to the present invention, the valve structure has been designed to employ this thermal action to improve the characteristics of performance of the regulating and control mechanism of which the valve is a component part.

Thus one object is to provide an improved valve for high pressure systems in which temperature conditions are utilized to augment conventional regulations of the valve operation.

Another object is to provide a high pressure valve in which the mass relationship of the adjacent parts has been designed to respond to ther-- mal action to augment remote control of such parts by conventional means.

A still further object is to provide a valve in which localized temperatures due to wire drawing eiiects are employed to increase the valve opening.

These and other objects and advantages residing in the combination, construction and arrangement of the valve part will more fully appear from a consideraion 0f the following specification and the appended claim.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view through a regulating valve in which the principles of the present invention have been embodied, and

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a slightly different form of valve than that shown in Fig. 1 embodying the principles of the present invention.

In the power brake valve l0 shown in Fig. 1, the inlet connection I 2 may be coupled with the usual high pressure accumulator. A connection to the 5 brake is indicatedlat 1 1-- with the connection to the supply tanlcshown at Hi. The tandem valve .part lla :haszan irregular central passage 20 extending throughout its entire length and terminating at one end into a seat 22 for the ball valve 21%. Intermediate the ends of the valve part I8 is a poppet like valve part 26 which is urged by the spring 28 into engagement with its seat 30. It will be noted that the seat 35! is in the form of a relatively thin cylindrical portion 32 of substantially less mass than the seat supporting structure 3t and of relatively less mass than the valve portion 26 and its associated structure.

While the specific construction of the regulating valve is no part of the present invention and may vary over a wide field, in the construction illustrated the valve part 29 controls the passage of hydraulic fluid between the connection 12 and the chamber 36 which opens into and communicate with both the passage 20 through the port 38, as well as with the connection M extending to the brake. To move the valve part 26 from its seat 3!], the piston 40 is moved to the left through the actuating connection 42. This movement advances the ball valve 2c into engagement with the seat 22 closing the passage 20 to the flow of fluid. Continued movement of the piston 40 results in the valve part '26 being lifted from its seat 30. Under the pressures and high fluid velocities under which valve mechanisms of the type described are operated, the normal lifting movement of the valve part 26 with reference to its seat 30 will be in the order of .005". As the fiuid flows at high velocity and under great pressure through the thin annular orifice, wire drawing effects will produce high localized temperature. By designing the seat 30 as a thin wall cylinder, or other suitable shape, having relatively less mass than the adjacent valve parts, localized expansion of the seat at will result in a substantially instantaneous expansion of the seat 30 away from the valve part 26 to augment the valve opening. As will be readily understood, such relative expansion due to the localized temperatures that are developed, results from the mass relationship between the adjacent valve parts. This spontaneous increase in the valve opening due to temperatures developed by the Wire drawing effects, assist in the inducing of high initial acceleration of fluid flow through the valve and reduces pressure lag, as well as head losses.

In Fig. 2, a diagrammatic representation is shown of the principles of the present invention embodied to a slightly different form of valve structure than that illustrated in Fig. 1. A thin wall seat portion 44 and a ball valve 46 of relatively greater mass than the seat portion 44 is shown moved into full line open position by the actuator member 48 having a pin portion 50 of relatively less mass than its supporting structure. The dotted line representation of the seat 44 and the pin 50 indicates on a rather exaggerated scale the expansion of these parts due to the localized temperatures produced by the wire drawing effect. It will be apparent that this expansion will further increase the valve opening.

Having thus described my invention, what I valve member, said seat and movable valve member defining an annular flow orifice between 1 them, means for bodily moving said valve mem- 5 her relative to said seat, the movement of the said valve member being confined to a range in the order of .005 inch, within which range high velocities are attained through said orifice with the generation of high local temperatures in the valve member and seat, said valve seat immediately adjacent the point of engagement of the movable valve member therewith being of substantially less mass than this movable valve member by being made in cylinder form with a thin wall which is so related with respect to said .005 valve movement and the high velocity operating conditions that the valve seat is capable of expanding under the action of said high local temperatures with a resulting increase in valve opening independent of said valve moving means.

ERWIN F. LOWEKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,589,239 Scott June 15, 1926 Swearingen Sept. 18, 1945 

